What The Happiest People Do At Work

Of course, they're doing something they find meaningful. But what else makes them so darn positive?

They're remembering a famous ad campaign.
There are multiple realities -- and happy people choose the most helpful and positive one, writes researcher Shawn Achor in his new book, Before Happiness. He likens it to the HSBC advertisement in which there were three identical photos of the back of a bald head, each bearing a different caption: STYLE, SOLDIER, SURVIVOR. What assumptions do you hold? The same goes when the boss walks into the room, Achor explains. Some of us think "stress" or "threat" or "I am powerless." "Someone who has learned to add vantage points may still see some of these descriptors, but he or she would also see additional ones, like 'human being,' 'mentor,' 'opportunity to impress' or 'key to promotion,'” Achor writes. When Achor and his colleagues trained workers to think of their stress response (pounding heart, shaky hands, etc.) as "helpful" (it increases clarity and mental toughness) instead of "harmful," they performed better at work, reported fewer psychological problems and had closer-to-optimal levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

They're exercising their "aerobics instructor" face.
Smiley people are sometimes faking it, suggests Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who learned the art of forced cheer during her stint as an aerobic instructor back in the 1980s. In her book, Lean In, she recalls that after an hour of beaming broadly, she genuinely felt happier. (Science backs this up.) One more thing: Achor writes that a powerful way to ensure that you come across as positive is to take a close look at the person talking with you, because we mirror one another unconsciously. Is her expression anxious? Disengaged? Tired? If so, he suggests that you change your own face "and see if the other person follows the new script." Chances are, she will.

They're always giving a minute -- or 10 -- away.
They have 230 emails, 23 voicemails and 13 items on their priority to-do list. So when the junior associate asks for help with her report, what do they say? "Sure." Because -- conscious of it or not -- offering to lend a hand to others at work actually makes us happier, reports a study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (as long as you're not giving so much time away that you can't complete your own work). "Work altruists" are 10 times more likely to be motivated at work, found Achor -- and, no surprise, they're likelier to get promoted, too. Plus, an experiment at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School showed that when people helped others for just 10 to 30 minutes a day, they actually felt less time-constrained -- it's part of the afterglow of feeling more capable, confident and useful. At the end of the day, after all the signatures are in place and the numbers crunched, it's the human connection that gives work meaning. Which is also why…

They never think about their Wheaties.
"You'll see I wear only gray or blue suits," President Obama told Vanity Fair writer Michael Lewis. "I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make." Multiple studies confirm: To preserve stamina, judgment, emotional self-control -- and, by extension, happiness -- reduce the number of choices you need to make every day, because even little ones sap your strength. (Psychologist Roy Baumeister, a leading researcher in this area, compared the willpower required in decision-making to a muscle that weakens with use.) So, experiment. No more dithering about where to meet, what to wear or eat or any other non-vital choice -- especially when the pressure's on. (Develop habits or decide the night before.) Then see if you don't have a little more energy and willpower to keep that aerobics-instructor smile on your face.

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